This ordinance is being railroaded, madam councilwoman. It's being railroaded on this community. -Dan Fitzpatrick

Saginaw Councilman Dan Fitzpatrick on LGBT issueSaginaw City Councilman Dan Fitzpatrick gives his thoughts about a proposed ordinance to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity during the Monday, April 21, 2014, City Council meeting.

Of the more than 120 people gathered at City Hall for the meeting, 29 spoke on the issue. Some gave impassioned pleas for city leaders to support the measure, while others voiced opposition and asked for special exemptions to be added.

During the meeting, some members of City Council gave their thoughts and concerns on the proposal. Others remained mostly silent on the issue.

The only member to publicly voice strong opposition to the ordinance was Councilman Dan Fitzpatrick.

"I will never vote for this, ever," Fitzpatrick said. "No matter how many amendments you put in here. Because sexual mores — your choice of what you do behind closed doors — has nothing to do with being a good citizen. It has nothing to do with the city of Saginaw. It has nothing to do with what we're charged here at this Council to do. Shame, shame on you.

"Folks, this is a litmus test. And that's all this is. Somebody's got a political agenda here. This is a nonpartisan body."

Mayor Dennis Browning said he would like to better know the minds of his fellow City Council members.

"The problem I have is that we don't know where council members are on the issue," he said. "We know where Councilman Dan Fitzpatrick is. If there was a motion six months from now to bring it back, I know that Councilman Dan Fitzpatrick is going to vote no.

"And that's okay. It's okay with his opinion. If I got more of that, then let's not waste our time. If the majority wants to turn it down, then so be it. If there's people that are strongly opposed to it, it doesn't matter how you amend it."

Mayor Pro Tem Amos O'Neal proposed City Council take a step back, making the motion to postpone the issue indefinitely. O'Neal said he would like to address the concerns of Saginaw's business and faith-based communities before voting.

"It's very, very clear that there are some clarity issues," O'Neal said. "In a generalized notation it references the exemptions. I think the language can be clarified and spelled out."

Councilwoman Annie Boensch, the sponsor of the ordinance, and Browning were the two votes against the postponement for an "indefinite" period. Boensch said she had a problem with O'Neal making the motion to postpone, since it "shut down" the discussion on the ordinance itself.

"I don't have a problem waiting as long as we're working toward a goal," Boensch said.

Browning said he voted against O'Neal's motion because he wanted to set a date by which the issue must come back to City Council.

"I prefer that we set a time, whether it's six months or a year," Browning said. "I'm being reassured by council members that it will come back, but there's nothing that guarantees it. I'd like to think that we bring it back and I'd like to think that we bring it back in a reasonable time."

Fitzpatrick said it often takes a long time to accomplish difficult goals. As an example, he reminisced about the process of developing an ordinance to address a rash of dangerous dog attacks in Saginaw, something he parenthetically referred to as "a real problem."

"That effort alone took close to a year," he said. "Close to a year to come to a vote. This ordinance is being railroaded, madam councilwoman. It's being railroaded on this community."

Councilman Floyd Kloc said he agreed with O'Neal that City Council must do a delicate "balancing act" in considering all points of view on the issue.

"I agree that we can't pass an ordinance that gives privileges or rights to one group that harms the constitutional rights of another," Kloc said. "If it can serve the purpose of allowing us to accomplish that balancing act by having appropriate language and inserting it to protect all our citizens, I would not have an objection with that. If the purpose of adjournment is to avoid addressing the issue, I would have a problem with that."

O'Neal said he intends to set up meetings with church, business and other community leaders to "take a pulse" on the issue and look at possible amendments to the proposed ordinance.

"I think this is the right thing to do," he said of stepping backing and taking the time to carefully consider the issue.

O'Neal said he is not sure when those meetings might take place, though he said they will likely be held behind closed doors.